Cessna 172 Introduction and Landing Practice

     To start off, I'd like to apologize for my lack of activity on here. I've still been flying and posting videos, but it seems as though I have neglected this blog. Anyways, I'm back! Since I have written last, I have soloed the C150 a couple of times as well as completed one Cross Country flight to Circleville.

     On 5/27/13, I went to the airport planning on flying the C150, N3718J. But, that did not turn out to be the case because of a broken alternator keeping the battery from recharging and the plane from starting. So, I went ahead and upgraded to N2814L, Waynesville's C172, for the first time. Because I had never flown this aircraft before, Joe gave me a quick introduction to the aircraft on the ground during the pre-flight.

     Once we were airborne, I headed due North away from the airport a few miles to do some stalls. Joe demonstrated the first one so that I could see how the airplane handled differently than the C150. Surprisingly, the panel and rest of the airplane was almost identical to the C150 despite a few tweaks, which made the transition very easy. After Joe demonstrated one stall, we turned back due South and I did four to get used to the aircraft before trying to land. After doing some air work, I entered the pattern for runway 8. My first two landings were long but soft considering about a 10kt crosswind from the south. The last few were soft as well, but I was also working on landing as short as possible. 

Video from today's flight with a GoPro HD Hero 2

      Overall, this was a very nice flight and I was really excited to get to fly a new airplane. But, I am still planning on sticking with N3718J, the C150, for the rest of my training. The next step for me is to solo at a towered field as well as complete all of my Cross Country flights. With my 17th birthday being in September, I am very close to my PPL, but just need to fly more often!